A dead mall
(Source)
After having been initially deceived by the strip center look of some older shopping malls like The Mall in Huntsville and Southgate Mall in Muscle Shoals, I’m now much better able to notice when an outdoor facility has spent a previous life as an enclosed mall. South Sound Center was immediately pegged as one of those.
South Sound Mall lease plan ca. 1966. View the full PDF version here.
I had taken Amtrak down to the Centennial Station in Lacey, Washington just outside of Olympia. On the ensuing bus ride to the state capital, we passed a power center on Sleater Kinney Road highlighted by a Kohl’s, Target and a tired Sears. This was what began life as South Sound Mall.
1- South Sound Mall just before its opening in 1966. (Source) 2- The excitement at Sears grand opening. (Source) 3- Opening ceremonies in front of Woolworth. (Source) 4- Miss Washington cuts the ribbon. (Source)
Olympia, not being the largest of cities, already had one enclosed facility, Capital Mall. I never realized that an older, first generation complex had pre-dated the extant center. I was fascinated by this and the discovery of Thurston County’s first enclosed retail destination.
South Sound Mall lease plan ca. 1985. View the full PDF version here.
South Sound Mall opened in the fall of 1966, predated by anchor Sears which had opened several months previously. It was joined by a People’s department store, Woolworth, and Pay ‘n Save. In 1984 Mervyn’s took over People’s space while Woolworth closed its doors in 1997 as Washington’s last location.
1 to 3- The present day layout of South Sound Center still looks much like a first generation barbell shaped shopping mall. 4- Target, where the enclosed portion once stood. 5- Kohl’s store stands where People’s once stood. 6- Sears, closed in 2020. (Source for all)
The enclosed portion of the mall, having seen rising vacancies since the construction of nearby Capital Mall, was closed and demolished in 2001. Soon after, Target opened in its spot while Kohl’s took over Mervyn’s pad. Sears hung on until 2020 when it finally closed its doors after over a half century in the same spot.
South Sound Center pamphlet ca. 2024. View the full PDF version here.
No comments:
Post a Comment